THERE WAS A MIX of good, bad, and ugly in MLS this past weekend. The Good: D.C. United and Dallas proved that they belong in the mix of contenders. The Bad: Kansas City received a reality check and Portland is moving in the wrong direction.

The Ugly? That was easy. That goes to the league's handling of the ongoing Jermaine Jones saga. which highlighted Major League Soccer's lack of fairness and clarity. It also made the league seem unprepared to handle the ambitions of its high-profile owners. Here are the key headlines.

MLS Makes a Hash of Jones Signing

So Jermaine Jones is now a member of the New England Revolution, completing his long-awaited move to MLS. I'm torn about this piece of news.

On the field, the playoff race in the Eastern Conference is now a complete toss-up. Columbus, Toronto, New York, Philadelphia, and New England are all fighting for the final two playoff spaces. New England trails New York by just one point for the final spot and Jones, in theory, will make New England a better team. Jones is still a fantastic player and he adds a welcome dose of talent and excitement to the league.

Off the field, it is a completely different situation. It’s pointless to recap this whole saga but it is worth noting that for the longest time it appeared as if Jones was going to join Chicago, which is where he was willing to go. Then MLS got caught up in its incomprehensible rules regarding Designated Players, thresholds determined by the league, and allocation. It was a mess and it concluded with New England and Chicago having a mysterious "blind draw" which, apparently, New England won.

It was a complete mess but perhaps it came along at the perfect time. The rules it has tried to create are completely antiquated for its pursuit of high-profile players—including U.S. national team veterans. This just put the spotlight on key flaws with the league as it looks to move forward.

With the collective bargaining agreement set to expire at the end of the year, these rules will have to be addressed. Maybe MLS can come up with a better system that gives clubs the right to sign the players they want, and gives players more say in where end up playing. It doesn't need to be this difficult.

Fans of the Chicago Fire have an understandable reason to be angry. Why wasn’t their team able to add Jermaine Jones when it seemed to be the leader from the get-go?

MLS has done some wise things over the years to improve the league. The addition of homegrown players was chief among them. This, however, exposed the league and it is time for those in charge to turn another page and move forward.

DC United’s Shocking win over Kansas City

Kansas City was the clear favorite on Saturday. The defending champions were playing at home and were coming off a convincing 4-1 win over Toronto last week.

Instead, D.C. United turned in its best performance of the year and stunned Kansas City with a 3-0 win. Eddie Johnson was suspended in the game but it did not matter as the team played fluid and attacking soccer to cruise past Kansas City. Luis Silva had two assists while Chris Rolfe and Perry Kitchen both found the back of the net.

The ease of the win essentially forces everyone to recalibrate their expectations for the Eastern Conference. For most of the season, the expectations were that Kansas City would run away with the East and contend for the Supporters Shield. D.C. United is now in first place. Was this win just a fluke or is D.C. United really the best in the conference?

No one knows the answer yet but what is clear is that Steve Birnbaum should receive vot

es for rookie of year, Perry Kitchen is a true leader and should get a U.S. call-up in January, and Luis Silva can create dangerous chances.

Portland's Flaws Exposed

The most hyped game of the weekend was the high-profile rivalry between Portland and Seattle—the Cascadia Cup—but only one team lived up to its end of the bargain. Seattle simply cruised to a 4-2 dominating win that showed that the gap between the two popular teams from Pacific Northwest is wide.

Seattle is one of the best teams in the league right now and has a clear edge on most teams when it comes to attacking talent. The story from this game, however, was Portland’s inept defense. So many times Seattle was able to slice through the Timbers' defense with ease. Portland is one of the disappointments in MLS season and the team simply does not look like anything close to where it was a year ago when it contended for the Supporters Shield. The true test for Caleb Porter will come in rebuilding the team next year.

Fabian Castillo a Real Threat

FC Dallas blew past Real Salt Lake on Friday in a 2-1 statement win. Despite being down a man for the entire second half, FC Dallas found a way to secure the win and move into second place in the Western Conference.

Blas Perez received a straight red in the first half—Dallas’ ninth red card of the season. The team has essentially been fighting with one hand tied behind its back for most of the season but it has been doing so impressively.

The team has all the tools to be a contender: the highest scoring team in the league combined with quality defenders.

Most importantly, Fabian Castillo is simply on another level right now. The Colombian has always had the talent but he is simply tuned in right now mentally and it is all coming together for him. When he is on his game, he is fun to watch and he makes everyone else on the team better. He is one of the best players in MLS right now and a contender for player of the month.

Brian Sciaretta is an American Soccer Now columnist and an ASN 100 panelist. Follow him on Twitter.